Sight of the Sun
by greenleaf-in-bloom
Summary: Voldemort is defeated - not dead, but defeated. The war is won. Now the two fugitives, hidden underground for years, can finally see the sun. Or at least, one of them can. Sirius lived. AU.
1. To Cry

"Shh," he whispered. "This way. Follow my voice. Here, give me your hand."  
  
"I can get across," she replied, her voice even softer.  
  
"Ginny," he sighed, reaching out and grabbing her arm. "Here. We've got to get to Harry. And you've still got Fred's jacket. If I knew - If I know what he was like, there'll be Filibusters in there."  
  
"They won't work anymore. It must have been four years since he left this down here."  
  
Ron didn't let go of his sister's hand. "We're already late -" he started as she stepped over the underground stream.  
  
"How do you know? You can't see your watch -"  
  
"Did you get another one?" another voice said from over to their right. It was raspy and disused, but its owner didn't bother to speak quietly. Ron and Ginny jumped. "I always meant to give you one after I broke the first. Remember that? At the Feast at the start of fifth year?"  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"Yes, we're here," another voice said. There was a pause, and a bright light suddenly illuminated the cavern, its source being Ron's wand. A young man sat on a rotting wooden stool in the corner, wearing blue jeans and a torn T-shirt that had once been blue - and Dudley's, Ginny noted. It was still too big for Harry, even though Dudley had probably worn it at fourteen, six years ago. The man had a hand buried in the thick black fur of the large dog lying next to him, head on its paws.  
  
Harry didn't move, but the dog lifted its head, wincing. Ron let out a soft moan, and Ginny hurried forward, collapsing to her knees, dragging Ron along with her. He didn't seem to want to move.  
  
It was clearly visible at first glance. Harry and Sirius had been here, in hiding from the Dark Lord, for five years. But even after the Dark Lord's vanquishing, it seemed that his purpose - to break Harry Potter - might have been acheived long ago.  
  
The Boy Who Lived was no longer a boy, but he was still a hero, and no one had any doubt that Voldemort had wanted even at the moment of his defeat more than anything to know that his enemy would suffer. Suffer he had, and suffer he would. Sirius' eyes were dull even as a dog, and both looked like they were starving nearly to the point of death. But Harry's eyes were milky and blank. Harry was blind.  
  
Ron and Ginny were silent, and Harry let go of the tuft of Sirius' fur, reaching out both his trembling hands. Ginny slipped her hand into one of his, and pulled Ron forward. Ron seemed frozen. Harry took his hand too, pulling both of their palms to his cheeks. Ginny almost shivered - his skin was deathly cold.  
  
Sirius transformed back to his human form. "It's been four years since I've seen real magic done," he said quietly. "Could I see your wand, Ron? I just.I just want to hold a wand again."  
  
Ron handed his wand to Sirius. Harry released their hands and shivered.  
  
"What's happened? No one's supposed to come down here until Voldemort's -"  
  
"He's.gone," Ginny cut him off.  
  
"For good?" This was from Sirius; Harry was sitting suddenly stiffly.  
  
Ron nodded, then winced, glancing at Harry, as if coming back to life. "Yes."  
  
"Do you." Sirius again. "Do you have any food?"  
  
"Oh, God!" Ginny gasped suddenly. She hadn't noticed how thin they were. Both of them looked like they were starving. Wasted. Emaciated. "Yes - hang on -"  
  
Ron was staring at them. "How long's it been since you've eaten?"  
  
"I think it was the mice, but I have no idea how long. How would we tell time?"  
  
"How long since you've had a real meal?"  
  
"Four years," Harry said softly. "When Fred came to visit. It was four years, wasn't it?"  
  
"How is everyone?" Sirius asked anxiously from around a mouthful of bread. Harry raised his head slowly, and even though his eyes were blank you could see he was still in shock from hearing about Voldemort. Ginny put part of a loaf of bread in his hand, and he slowly brought it to his mouth, as if it felt strange, and nibbled on it.  
  
"Where to start?" Ron said with a bitter laugh.  
  
"Hermione," Harry said.  
  
"Missing. She vanished about two months ago. She isn't dead, though. We had a spell on her before, and the light is still on, so she's alive. She'll probably turn up sometime soon."  
  
"Remus," Sirius said hesitantly.  
  
"Alive, if not fine. He can't walk very well. He's been made an Auror."  
  
"Dumbledore." Harry and Sirius seemed to have silently agreed to alternate.  
  
"Dead. Since about three and a half years ago. He died in his sleep. He was tired, Harry. The last thing he said to anyone was, 'I hope Harry's all right.'"  
  
Harry winced, and Sirius bowed his head, shoulders hunched.  
  
"Peter," he said after a moment, without looking up.  
  
"Dementor's Kiss took him last month. The dementors had gone over, too."  
  
"Your family."  
  
Ron was the one who spoke up. "Bill's missing. So is Percy. George is dead. Fred's gone hard. He's been right on the front lines since, and has seen more than he could take, I think, really. Charlie's an Auror, and he's very respected. Dad's Minister of Magic - does a bloody good job, if you ask me. Mum's fine - as fine as you can expect, with all of what's happened."  
  
"And you?" Sirius again.  
  
"My shoulder's bad," Ron sighed. "But I'm fine, really. Ginny's all right, too, aren't you, Gin?"  
  
"I've been awfully worried," she choked, gripping Harry's hand again. He bit off another piece of bread and coughed. It shook his whole body. No wonder that shirt didn't fit him - she doubted you could find something that did.  
  
"Viktor Krum."  
  
"He's an Unspeakable for us. No idea where he is now, but he's fine. Kept out of trouble."  
  
Sirius shrugged. "Moody."  
  
"As paranoid as ever, with as many new scars as he could muster. Dad's tried to get him back into his retirement, but he kept finding out somehow when the Auror strikes were going to be and turning up."  
  
"Fleur."  
  
"Dead. She turned, Harry. She turned to his side, and took an Avada Kedavra for him."  
  
"The Malfoys."  
  
"All in Azkaban, which is guarded by normal guards now."  
  
"Seamus, Dean, Parvati, Lavender, Padma."  
  
"The twins are missing. Seamus lead a group of guerilla fighters. Lavender and he are engaged. Dean's supposedly dead, in the most recent battle."  
  
"McGonagall."  
  
"Alive, and Headmistress. Very capable, actually, and she's somewhat softer."  
  
"Snape."  
  
"He got caught spying and was repeatedly put under the Cruciatus. He's still sane, but he teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts and does it well, and fairly."  
  
"Neville."  
  
"He's been missing for two and a half years. There are two rumors: either he's in hiding or he's dead."  
  
Harry sighed. "How did Voldemort go?"  
  
"Well," Ron said, glancing at Ginny, "he's not dead." 


	2. To Learn

Harry's and Sirius' reactions were the same. They both choked on their bread (Harry was eating it more quickly now) and said, "What?!"  
  
"We don't know who did it," Ron sighed. "He was hit with a memory charm. Whoever did it Portkeyed him to the Ministry. Charlie was the one who found him, utterly confused - you remember Lockhart? It was like that. 'Odd place, this.' Charlie freaked - I mean, here's Voldemort, wandering the halls of the Ministry and talking to himself, trying to remember his name. Tommy, Charlie told him. Tommy.  
  
"It was one of the most frightening things I ever saw, though, when they were trying to decide what to do with him. He's not dead, yet - we still haven't decided," Ginny said. "I think they're going to have to kill him. It's terrible, but there's too much of a chance that he might, someday, start regaining memory."  
  
Harry was silent. "Harry?" Ron asked tentatively. There was no answer.  
  
"It's all right," Sirius said, standing very slowly and bending over Harry to look at him in the light. "He's just asleep." His voice was suddenly trembling. He looked up at Ron and Ginny, and they saw that there were tears in his eyes. "I haven't seen him in the light since he was sixteen," the man whispered. "Four years. Four years. It was worse than Azkaban down here. He almost died more than once. Come on. I want to get him out of here. Can you conjure a stretcher, one of you? He can't walk very well."  
  
"Can you? Walk, I mean?"  
  
"I'm fine," Sirius said, and picked up what looked like a carved stick from the corner. "I can use this."  
  
"Sirius," Ginny said softly. "How long did that take you?"  
  
"I made a mark in it every day. It's only about half carved."  
  
"Every day? For four years?"  
  
"Five, actually. I showed it to Fred when he found his way in here. Do you know how he did? No one was supposed to know about this place."  
  
"We didn't even know he came here until he came back after vanishing for a week. He left Mum a note saying he was fine - she flipped out, but when he came back with word that he'd seen the two of you, she was practically on her knees begging for news."  
  
"Harry just about killed him with his bare hands," Sirius said as he lifted his godson onto the stretcher Ginny had conjured. "He thought it was a Death Eater. I was asleep, but Harry shouted out, 'Keep away!' and woke me up. I remember Fred gasped, and called out, 'Easy, easy. It's me, Potter, good God!' And Harry collapsed to his knees and called out sort of hesitantly, 'Fred? Fred Weasley?' 'Righty, mate,' Fred said. 'Is Sirius there?' 'Yes, he's asleep -' But I cut him off, 'After that racket you made, Harry?' And Harry started laughing. I don't think he'd laughed the whole time he was down here."  
  
Ginny let out a stifled sob, wrapping the jacket around her tighter and glancing back at Harry.  
  
"When did he go blind?" Ron whispered.  
  
"We think it was sometime in the third year."  
  
"Oh, God," Ginny whimpered.  
  
"How much farther is it?" Sirius asked, and then groaned. "Oh. I have to stop. Hang on."  
  
"It's almost an hour farther, Sirius," Ron said concernedly. "I'll conjure you a stretcher. You're in no condition to walk."  
  
"No!" Sirius insisted. "I'm walking out of here on my own. I'm walking out with my dignity."  
  
"Walking free at last," Ginny said quietly. "Now that you've been cleared.after nineteen years.walking free." Her voice was strangely soft.  
  
"Where does this come out?" Sirius asked. "I don't remember."  
  
"On the far side of the Forest," Ron answered after a moment of silence.  
  
"You'd think I'd remember it more," Sirius said thoughtfully. "I thought it was going to be the last time I ever saw the sun. For Harry, it was. But I don't remember it at all. I do remember carving the first line into this staff."  
  
Sirius glanced back in the dark tunnel. In a way, it saddened him that he would never see it again. In a way, he wanted to scream with joy and leap into the air. It may have been hell, but it had been five years of his life.  
  
Worse than Azkaban. Yes, Sirius decided, I'm lucky I'll never have to go back. 


	3. To Meet

Hogwarts was as wonderful as Sirius had remembered. The pictures in the Great Hall covered all of one wall, and it was impossible to ignore them. There were few spaces where the pictures had been taken down, but more of the pictures were surrounded by hearts. Either that or they were empty.  
  
Professor McGonagall was sitting near the front, and she looked up as they opened the door. Sirius was leaning on Ginny for support, but he was still walking - still moving himself.  
  
McGonagall looked up and started, standing quickly and half-running to meet them. Sirius stopped as she reached them, and Ron and Ginny looked at him and followed suit. The Headmistress looked at Sirius long and measuringly and then said quietly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I every suspected you." She put a hand on his shoulder. "It's good to have you back."  
  
She turned her eyes breifly to Ron and Ginny, and nodded. "Good job, you two."  
  
"Headmistress -" Ginny began, but McGonagall shook her head, looking at Harry.  
  
"Is he all right?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "He wanted to know, before he died. Is Harry all right?"  
  
"He's blind," Sirius said quietly, looking at the tiled floor. "He's been blind from somewhere around two years."  
  
Professor McGonagall stared at him as if he had just said that he had actually joined the Death Eaters after all, and then she let out a deep breath.  
  
"Oh, no," she murmered, laying a hand on Harry's. It was freezing cold. "The poor boy.I suppose they might be able to heal it at St. Mungo's, but I'm not sure."  
  
It was Sirius' turn to look startled. "I hadn't even thought about that," he breathed. "I thought we were going to die down there."  
  
"You need rest, and treatment," the Professor said, laying her hand on Sirius' shoulder again. "I'll give you a Portkey to St. Mungo's. Could you two accompany them?"  
  
"Of course, Headmistress," Ginny said politely. "Could you send word to our parents? About everything?"  
  
McGonagall nodded, and looking at Sirius, who was looking at his staff and avoiding all eye contact, said quietly, "When you've been. treated, will you be able to tell us more precise details?"  
  
Sirius nodded, still not looking at her, Ron or Ginny, and turned to lay a hand on Harry's. 


End file.
